Naples excursion: Exclusive Amalfi Coast, Positano, Sorrento & Pompeii - Sept-07

Here are a few notes about our short trip from Naples while on our Celebrity Millennium Sept-10-07 cruise. I posted some general comments on our cruise in the Celebrity message board.

In Naples we took the ship’s tour: “Exclusive Amalfi Coast, Positano, Sorrento & Pompeii” . This was a wonderful tour and one of the highlights of our cruise. The tour is given in a large van (or small bus) which held about 15 people plus a driver and tour guide. The small group was nice. It took a good half hour or so to reach the “Amalfi Drive” area where the views were spectacular. This is a drive up and down scenic coastal hills with lots of scenic cliffs and switchbacks. We first drove to Positano which is a charming town built into a steep hillside with very narrow streets. Large busses can not get into this immediate area, although some were relatively close. We stopped for about an hour or so where we had free time for sightseeing, shopping or enjoying a cappuccino at a local café. We could have spent an entire vacation here so the time seemed a little short – we’ll come back some day. Next we went to Sorrento, again traveling the scenic drive which in itself is a highlight of this trip – just spectacular!! We had another hour at Sorrento to explore the town center on our own. This is a huge market area which one would enjoy viewing even if you didn’t want to do any serious shopping. Of course we sampled a little Limoncello and bought a bottle, along with a couple other local items. Again, this was a special place we’d like to return to. We then were transported to our lunch spot, a hotel on the outskirts of Sorrento developed on the grounds and gardens of a former large estate. We were greeted with a glass of Proseco and some appetizers and we mingled along a terrace overlooking a cliff with a spectacular view up and down the coast. We then moved to a covered part of the terrace where we lunched alfresco in the shade while enjoying the amazing view. There were a few other groups on the same tour (each with their own van) which met up here for lunch. Lunch was a great Italian lunch including wine (all you really wanted) salad, pasta, a meat course (fish or chicken parmigana – both very nice) and dessert. This meal far surpassed my expectations for a “ship excursion lunch”. From there we continued to Pompeii for the last part of our tour. Our guide showed us through Pompeii. We were a bit tired and didn’t really want to stick with the group so the guide gave us a meeting place and time and we explored this fascinating area on our own.

Again – this tour was one of the highlights of our trip and we really enjoyed the area. I’d recommend this excursion to all. While I’m happy I did the whole trip on with this excursion in our first trip here, if we return, I’d just look for a basic private transportation to Positano and Sorrento to maximize our time in these two fantastic places and the drive in between.

I should have some pictures posted on our photo page in a few days.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. We will be in Naples in two weeks and our plan is to take the hydrofoil to Sorrento and rent a car from there and drive the Amalfi Coast. Then return the car and take the train to do Herculaneum afterwards.

Did the van have to drop you off in Positano and park elsewhere, or was there parking near to the centre of town? Also, did you go all the way to Amalfi or just to Positano? I don't know if we will continue on past Positano, I guess it just depends on how much time we want to spend there once we arrive.

One other question: were there many places to pull off the road to take pictures or just enjoy the view? Since I will be doing the driving, I don't want to miss out!

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. We will be in Naples in two weeks and our plan is to take the hydrofoil to Sorrento and rent a car from there and drive the Amalfi Coast. Then return the car and take the train to do Herculaneum afterwards.

 

Did the van have to drop you off in Positano and park elsewhere, or was there parking near to the centre of town? Also, did you go all the way to Amalfi or just to Positano? I don't know if we will continue on past Positano, I guess it just depends on how much time we want to spend there once we arrive.

 

One other question: were there many places to pull off the road to take pictures or just enjoy the view? Since I will be doing the driving, I don't want to miss out!

The van dropped us off by a small gas station with a small parking garage in Positano. I'm not sure if it was open to the public or not - it seemed pretty full. Positano is a smaller village spread more or less vertically on a steep hillside. The streets are very narrow with lots of twists and turns.

We didn't to to Amalfi on our tour - I don't think it was part of the plan and I don't think we would have had time - but I did hear from others on private tours that the road between Positano and amalfi was closed the day were there due to a rock slide. We did enjoy the Amalfi drive between Positano and Sorrento twice, and I did notice a few places for cars to park to enjoy the view along the way. Just a few. Do note that the drive is very narrow at places and there was a fair amount of traffic with vans, cars and large tour buses passing each other. At times vehicles would have to stop and back up as there wasn't always enough room for vehicles to pass each other as the road was very narrow with tight switchback turns. Consider this as I wouldn't have wanted to be doing this drive myself. I've also read that in a car you don't always have a good view due to the guard rail, but that a van or bus raises you up to see it. Also, be sure you leave yourself enough time to just enjoy the view, browse through the streets and shops and sit and have a Coffee while you soak in the sights and people. At times it seemed like we were so busy going from one spot to another (at all our stops not just this area) that we didn't stop long enough to enjoy the view.

Thanks for the advice. We would like to hire a private driver but we are already doing that in Rome and are trying to budget a little bit. We thought about just hiring a taxi when we got there but we are travelling with an infant and will need a car seat. I am hoping that since it will be October and on a Monday morning/afternoon, that there won't be quite as much traffic. And it there is, I will just have to deal with it!

Thanks again for your help.

We found the most reasonable private driver tours in the area: http://www.aptours.it

They have English speaking drivers who are knowledgeable about the area. We had a comfortable 8 pax Mercedes van for the 6 of us. We took an all day tour to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. Had a wonderful lunch in a family owned restaurant in Ravello.

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. We will be in Naples in two weeks and our plan is to take the hydrofoil to Sorrento and rent a car from there and drive the Amalfi Coast. Then return the car and take the train to do Herculaneum afterwards.

 

Did the van have to drop you off in Positano and park elsewhere, or was there parking near to the centre of town? Also, did you go all the way to Amalfi or just to Positano? I don't know if we will continue on past Positano, I guess it just depends on how much time we want to spend there once we arrive.

 

One other question: were there many places to pull off the road to take pictures or just enjoy the view? Since I will be doing the driving, I don't want to miss out!

We had a private tour through "Drive Sorrento" and got to visit Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi and Positano. We wanted to also see Ravello, but flat ran out of time. My wife and I had gained the reputation onboard as squeezing as much out of each port visit as humanely possible, but I read your post and am taking my hat off to you.....we were only there for 11 hours, so perhaps (hopefully) you'll be there longer than we were, but it does seem as if your plate is pretty full. And then I read that you'll be doing all of this with and infant and we are awestruck. We left shortly after the ship docked and returned with less than 15 minutes to go. And as posts above said, we could have easily spent more time at each stop!

Good luck, and enjoy Italy to the fullest!